Page 70 of I Just Want to be Yours

My lips twitch. I’d love to have Margot come on tour, but she has her own life. “She wants to finish school and build a career.”

Dave takes a better look at me. “You’ve asked her?”

I shake my head. “It would just give her something else to stress about.” Leaning in a little closer, I add, “Plus, I don’t think I want her around Marty more than she needs to be.”

Dave lets out a bellow before clapping me on the shoulder. “Aw, come on. He’d behave.”

I cock an eyebrow, and it only makes him laugh more.

“All right. I get it.”

Why would Dave ask about Margot going on tour? We’ve only been together a few months. Dave and Brady were with their girlfriends for years. Before I can stop myself, I ask, “Did you ask Lynn to go on tour?”

Dave sobers slightly. “Yeah. Of course.” He looks up like he’s trying to remember. “We’ve had that talk . . .” He blows out a breath. “Shit. I don’t even know how many times at this point.”

“She said no?”

He lets out a low chuckle. “Every time.”

“But why?”

He shifts his weight. “She already has a great job doing something she loves. It would be too much of a sacrifice for her.” He looks up at the RV next to us. “Plus, there’s the whole living arrangement. I’d love to fly back and spend a few days with her between shows, but we’re not earning enough for frequent flights yet.”

“So, why did you think I’d invite Margot?”

A rueful smile pulls at the corner of his mouth. “Jackson,” he says with a hint of amusement, and I don’t think he’s ever said my name so deliberately. “You and Margot areyoung.I know it might not feel like it, but she’s as detached as she’s ever going to be. She hasn’t built her career yet. You two can afford to be wild and free in a way the rest of us can’t.” He lets out a low laugh. “Now is the time for you two to make reckless decisions and challenge the impossible.”

I huff, but I’m not buying everything he’s selling. He didn’t hear the way Margot talks about her internship. He didn’t see the spark in her eyes when she broke down her strategy for covering the small bookstore in town. Her career might be new, but that doesn’t make it less important.

Instead of arguing with him, I lightly bump my knuckles against the side of the RV. “And the living arrangement?”

He shrugs. “You two are used to those shitty dorm beds.”

A breath of laughter leaves my lips.

Pointing back at the hotel, he says, “Listen, I have to get the others, but we’re pretty much ready to hit the road. Want to come?”

“I’m good. Do me a favor and make sure Marty at least showers before he starts bragging about what he did last night.”

“On it.” Dave gives a two-finger salute before turning on his heels and heading back toward the hotel.

And I’m left to wonder what it would feel like if I were standing here with Margot instead of standing here alone.

42

margot

The cool airand bustle of New York gets quickly traded for heat, humidity, and palm trees. I’m surprised to see Rae’s Jeep Liberty already waiting front and center, and I pick up my pace. Opening the door and sliding inside, I toss my bag in the back. “Thanks for picking me up.”

She grins. “Of course. How was it?”

“Great,” I say a little breathless as I buckle my seatbelt, but my smile is genuine. Every second I spent with Jackson this weekend just made me wish we had more time. There’s still so much we could have seen and done . . . or talked about. I feel like even though I told him about my job and my life, I still could have talked to him about so much more. There just wasn’t enough time.

Well, I guess wecouldhave talked more, but we chose to do . . . other things.

I don’t regret a second of that either. My memory jumps to us at the pool, and I can already feel my face flushing. I can’t believe we did that—I can’t believeIdid that. Having sex out in the open like that was thrilling and reckless, and I never thought I’d be so willing to break the rules.

But with Jackson, Idobreak rules. With him, I hardly think about what we were doing and where we were doing it. All I can see is him.

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